- Under WHMIS and OSHA HazCom, an SDS is required for products classified as hazardous. A product that meets no hazard class does not legally need one.
- "Non-hazardous" must be the result of a classification, done separately for each market. A product can be unclassified in Canada and the US but classified in the EU.
- Some products are excluded from the SDS rules even when hazardous, such as cosmetics, drugs, food, pest control products and consumer products. They follow other laws instead.
- In the EU, some unclassified mixtures still need an SDS on request.
Customers ask for safety data sheets for almost everything they buy, including products that are not hazardous at all. Whether you legally need one depends on the classification of the product and on the market.
The short answer for Canada and the US
In Canada, the supplier SDS and label requirements of the Hazardous Products Act apply to a hazardous product: a product classified in a category or subcategory of one of the hazard classes in the regulations. A product that meets none of the classification criteria is not a hazardous product, so WHMIS does not require an SDS for it.
In the US, OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard requires manufacturers and importers to obtain or develop an SDS "for each hazardous chemical", meaning a chemical classified as a physical or health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust or a hazard not otherwise classified. Again, no hazard classification means no SDS duty.
"Non-hazardous" has to be shown, not assumed
A product is non-hazardous only after someone has checked it against every hazard class, using the composition and any test data. Three points often surprise suppliers:
- Combustible dust. A powder made of harmless ingredients can still be classified for combustible dust in both Canada and the US.
- Mixtures below the cut-offs. A small amount of a sensitiser or carcinogen can be enough to classify a mixture. The cut-offs are low, often 0.1% or 1%.
- Different markets, different answers. Environmental hazard classes are part of the EU and UK rules but not of WHMIS, and OSHA does not cover them. A product classified only as hazardous to the aquatic environment in the EU can be unclassified in Canada and the US.
Products excluded from the rules
Some products are outside the SDS requirements even when they are hazardous, because other laws cover them.
- Canada: Health Canada lists the excluded sectors as consumer products, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices, food, explosives, pest control products, wood and wood products, radioactive nuclear substances, tobacco products, manufactured articles and hazardous waste.
- US: the exemptions include articles, wood and wood products where the only hazard is flammability or combustibility, retail food, drugs, cosmetics packaged for retail sale, and consumer products used the same way a consumer would use them.
The same product can fall on either side of the line depending on how it is sold. A cleaner sold in a supermarket is a consumer product; the same cleaner sold in bulk to cleaning contractors is a workplace product and needs a WHMIS or HazCom SDS if it is classified.
The EU is different
In the EU, REACH requires an SDS for hazardous substances and mixtures, and also on request for some mixtures that are not classified, for example when they contain a hazardous substance at 1% or more, certain substances of very high concern at 0.1% or more, or a substance with an EU workplace exposure limit. If you sell into Europe, "not classified" does not always mean "no SDS".
What to send a customer who asks anyway
Many customers' purchasing or safety systems will not accept a product without a document. Two common options:
- A short statement on your letterhead that the product is not classified as hazardous under WHMIS and OSHA HazCom, with the date and the basis for the conclusion.
- A voluntary SDS in the usual 16-section format that states the product is not classified. It must not show pictograms, signal words or hazard statements that do not apply.
Either way, keep the classification record behind it, keep it current when the formula changes, and make sure it is accurate. A document that understates a hazard is a bigger problem than no document at all.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Checked against the official sources above on 10 October 2026. Rules change: for your own products, ask for a spot-check.
